


Do You Remember Me?

by DesertLily



Series: Found Family Bingo 2020 [6]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Cuddling, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Found Family Bingo, Found Family Bingo 2020, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Jon is mentioned but he's finally taking the nap he deserves, POV Sasha James, Sasha James Lives, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26624677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertLily/pseuds/DesertLily
Summary: Sasha James never died when she was replaced. She was simply...lost; displaced as something else lived our life. When she’s finally free, Sasha is left with one fear; Will anyone remember her?
Relationships: Martin Blackwood & Sasha James, Sasha James & Tim Stoker
Series: Found Family Bingo 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889911
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30
Collections: Found Family Bingo





	Do You Remember Me?

**Author's Note:**

> For the 'flashback' prompt for Found Family Bingo!

Sasha James didn’t know how long she had been wandering. She didn’t know much about anything anymore. Had it been years? Months? Weeks? Days? Hours? Minutes? Time seemed to merge into nothingness. There was no day or night. Just this endless void she found herself lost in. She remembered the moment she had been cast there - it was seared into her mind like a brand. It had been in artefact storage on the day Jane Prentiss had attacked the institute. She had been hiding with Elias - her boss? She was sure he was her boss, but things didn’t make much sense anymore - until they got separated -or had he left her behind? She had been alone with that table. The table that seemed to spiral into nothingness, drawing Sasha closer and closer until it was too late. That was when Sasha saw the woman. Her instincts screamed that this was somehow the real Sasha James even when she  _ knew _ it was wrong. This woman wasn’t short nor did she have her dark brown curls. She was tall with red hair that was just as straight and stiff as she seemed to be. The woman - the Not!Sasha - was smiling but it felt artificial. Everything about her felt artificial. Then she was pushed towards the table then...nothing. Then she had become trapped here. This place void of anything, everything, and anyone but herself. 

In all honesty, she had long since resigned herself to this fate. There was no clear entrance or exit. There was nowhere to give her freedom; just an eternal prison as something else lived her life. Sasha tried to ground herself; to refuse to give into whatever this was. So she thought of those that meant the most to her. Jon. Martin. Tim. She practically chanted their names on loop, forcing herself to remember their faces. Sasha forced herself to hold onto those that made her herself; made her human. She refused to lose herself to this place. Then just as quickly as she had arrived, she left.

One second she was in the hellish void, the next she was in artefact storage; _the exact place where the spiral table had been_. For whatever reason, it had been moved or destroyed. It wasn’t surprising. Artefact storage was regularly reorganised and recategorised. It was inevitable in the unknown time she had been gone. Sasha didn’t move for a few moments. She laid there on the ground, exhausted and drained of every ounce of energy. But she was still her. She still had the knit cardigan Martin had got her for Christmas, and the absurd best friends necklace Tim had made her get was still fastened around her neck. They were simple things; basic things but they were _her’s_. They were real. She was real. But...Jane Prentiss’s attack had been real. Not!Sasha had been real. They were threats. _Threats_ _to her friends_. Had...Had they survived? Were they alright? Were they hurt? She needed to know. Sasha needed to make sure her friends - _her family_ \- were safe.

Her legs were like jelly as she tried to stand, stumbling as she walked. But Sasha didn’t stop to rest; to ‘regain her strength’ or whatever the Hell you would call recovering from that nightmare. It didn’t matter. What mattered was somehow making it down to the archives without falling flat on her face. But she did it. Somehow. As she got closer, she could hear voices and it was like a weight had been lifted off of her chest.  _ She knew those voices. She knew that laughter _ . But before Sasha could get close enough to  _ finally _ see her friends, someone slammed her into the wall. No, not someone.  _ Something _ . The Not!Sasha was exactly as she remembered. All the way down to the artificial smile. Everything about her felt wrong from her too-straight hair to the ice cold fingers wrapped tightly around Sasha’s throat. 

“You’re not supposed to be here.” She - it? - hissed. The look on its face was a mixture of confusion and pure rage. “There was no escape!” It insisted as its grip tightened, squeezing tighter and tighter until no air could enter Sasha’s lungs and no sound could escape her lips. She gaped and scratched at the hand holding her in place. “I’m not one for getting my hands so dirty so easily but just this once...I think I’ll make an exception. I’ve worked too hard on this to let  _ you _ get in the way.” Sasha’s vision began to flicker. “You won’t fe-” Its words were cut off by a crash before it crumbled to the ground unmoving. A fire extinguisher lay on the ground next to her. 

Sasha gasped desperately for air, taking as many deep breaths as she could. She probably would have collapsed too if it wasn’t for the pair of arms that moved to wrap around her. They were warm and soft; familiar. “I-I’m sorry. I...I really don’t know what happened there. She’s never been violent like that before and I-I probably shouldn’t have hit her with a fire extinguisher and oh God…” Martin began to ramble and Sasha couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Perhaps some things really didn’t change. “Sasha’s not normally like-” He stopped talking as he glanced down at her. For the first time, their eyes met. His filled with confusion that quickly turned into realisation. “Sasha.” He breathed out. 

She wanted to cry. He  _ knew _ her. He recognised her. “Hello, Martin.” Her voice was raspy and uncertain; a downside to having gone so long without speaking. “I don’t suppose there’s much of a chance of a cup of tea?” His arms tightened around her. 

As it turned out, there was very much a chance of a cup of tea. There always was when it came to Martin. She savoured every single sip of the drink. It was warm and sweet. For whatever reason, Martin believed her as she told him about what had happened. Her words made sense to him. He saw her. Someone finally saw her. He promised her everything would be okay and Sasha believed him. Because Martin Blackwood felt like home and if she was at home then she was safe. She was finally safe. He had been rather insistent on her resting after that, pushing her gently to lay down on the sofa within the break room. Sasha remembered complaining before about it being stiff and lumpy but right now? Right now, it felt like the most comfortable thing she had ever laid on. Her dreams were non-existent and she slept peacefully. 

When she woke up, Sasha was quick to realise she wasn’t alone. It seemed like Jon, Martin, and Tim had joined her on the sofa. But she had no thoughts of trying to move or complaining. It was...nice. It was soothing. Whilst the first two were asleep, the latter wasn’t. It seemed he’d noticed she was awake too. “I’m so sorry, Sash.” Tim’s voice cracked as his fingers ran gently through her hair. “I-I lost you and I didn’t notice.  _ None of us did. _ ” There was pain in his voice; a sincere sadness she had only previously heard when he spoke about Danny. “You’re my best friend and I forgot you.” 

“It’s not your fault.” She whispered, lazily reaching for his hand. “You remember me now. You have every memory and flashback of me and we’re going to be okay. All of us.” Sasha promised him, closing her eyes for a few moments. “Besides, at least now I have the perfect blackmail to use to make sure you pay for drinks the next time we go out.” 

Tim laughed and for just a moment, everything felt like it could be okay. “...She was nothing like you, y’know? Too stiff. Too isolated.” He whispered. “I didn’t even remember you but I missed you so much. I was so convinced I’d done something wrong; that I’d pushed you out of my life.” He squeezed her hand tightly. “But you’re back and I’m so, so glad you are.” 

“I missed you too.” She smiled. “But I’m home now and I’m not going anywhere.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Or hmu @ desert-lily on tumblr!


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